Friday, May 22, 2009

Hi!This is my first listing here since the beginning of this blog, but, I thought I would get back to listing here with this new oil painting. This is a 12x12 inch oil on 3/4 inch gallery wrapped canvas. The sides are painted black. It can be displayed as it is or can be framed if prefered. Sold unframed with a heavy-duty saw-toothed hanger attached on back. If prefered, I can attach a standard hanging wire, just let me know. The painting is signed on the front, and, titled, signed, and dated on the back.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Imagine TREW http://triplequinewelfare.org/ rescues surprise after rescuing this mare to discover not long after the little miracle she had delivered to them. Hence the title of this work "A Little Miracle".

After the wonderful paintings from workshop folks, I thought I'd send you one of my own--done during the Florida workshop on the last couple of days.

This Amish image came from the collection of Judi Evans, and is used with permission. I used the subject to convey noon light, and loved the drama of the deep shadows and the interesting angle of the horses juxtaposed with the lean out on each side. Painting noon light can be fun, when the subject is as interesting as this one!

It is a 12 x 16 acrylic on textured canvas, and is available for $350, unframed directly from me. It's much better in person.

In other news, Rural Heritage Magazine is featuring my art relating to these draft horses in their upcoming issue. Summer work and big horses!

I'm also gearing up for the next Color Boot Camp workshop here in California in less than two weeks!

You can see my entire blog HERE.My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.Color System information can be found HERE.If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

I like the feel of this little painting. It shows some of the influences of Marc Chagall and Franz Marc on my work. To me, the painting has an almost mythical feel. This is a 12x12 oil on gallery-wrapped canvas. Special purchase price, $125 plus shipping. Click here for details.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Mother's Day in Montana was a day of rain, snow, dark clouds, and mud! In the midst of all that, look at the sun that shone on this paint for two seconds. As it happened, I was snapping photos as the horse was walking along, and one of them turned out like this. In forty other photos of this horse, he was so dark, you couldn't tell he was a paint!

It's so nice when it all comes together and you get the shot you're hoping for.Donna Ridgway

Friday, May 8, 2009

I've been gathering images of gulls this spring (not sure why, but as it turns out they're coming in handy) which I have combined with this lovely Gypsy cob yearling filly for my most recent photomontage. This is just the beginning of a whole series of works I hope to do featuring this breed.

I am fortunate to have access to a locally-based herd of beautiful Gypsy cobs and look forward to following the herd throughout the seasons, also to meeting the new stallions who will soon be out of quarantine and available to be checked out. You can learn more about these horses (and check the yearlings for sale, including Mana who is featured in this art image---sadly to be sold without wings!!) by checking this website.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

This is a 24x6" oil on gallery-wrapped canvas, available from my website. "Gossip Hour" depicts a scene very familiar to horse people. Horses are extremely curious animals, and if something is "going on" they need to be right there, checking things out. On the day I shot the photo reference for this painting, I was actually doing a photo shoot of another horse. The owner was trying to get her horse to run and move around in an animated way for a portrait I was going to paint. These four horses seemed to be joking about what they probably perceived as some pretty silly actions on our part as we flapped our arms up and down to make the old gelding move. I'm sure they figured we'd lost our minds!

Yes, some of my students in the Georgia workshop do WONDERFUL paintings!!After the value studies in the first day of the Color Boot Camp workshop, the "recruits" are given the challenge of painting without mixing--but choosing values (lightness or darkness) based purely on the colors straight from the tube. The results are wonderfully colorful, exciting, contemporary works. I share two of them with you in this email.

The first one of the draft horse is done in acrylics and is an 8 x 8 canvas. It was a great challenge for these folks to not mix colors, yet they all admitted that the exercise taught them volumes about the true values of their pigments.

When we know the values of our colors, it allows us to make exciting color choices and perhaps not trying to mix on the palette. It also showed the students that colors have an "inherent value" when they come out the tube.

The second painting I've attached is of a rooster done in oils. It is 9 x 12 inches and has a little glare on the right side. But it, too, is very successful in the exercise.

The third day has us doing misty light and finishing up our moonlight work from yesterday. These students are spot on with design and drawing skills, yet I have one who has not used acrylics before...just watercolors!

You can see my entire blog HERE.My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.Color System information can be found HERE.If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Monday, May 4, 2009

I'm in Georgia teaching the first of two workshops--five days of Color Boot Camp. This acrylic was a quick study done yesterday to demonstrate the value plan of a large light in midtones. The weather is WONDERFUL for this California gal, with rain ad cool breezes, I'm "plumping up" as the moisture kisses my face!

This image might look familiar to you because of my doing it for another workship at another time of day. This one is morning light, and that one was evening light. One can vary the time of day when working with source material with the Color System. Right now the students are doing a brand new exercise of painting without mixing any colors together--just finding the correct values by deciding which color straight from the tube is the value they need. Their brains are hurting!

The very sad note, and one of the reasons I haven't been able to post, is that we lost Shadow the Tibetan Mastiff pup to parvo virus a week ago. I cannot tell you how much of a hole his death has put in our lives, but it has taken until now to even write of it. He is buried up on the hill by Chiron's corral, and near the pond where he would drink and play.

Everyone else is fine, and Sparky is here with me in Georgia. A fun week ahead for all of us!

You can see my entire blog HERE.My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.Color System information can be found HERE.If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Approved, sprayed and signed!This is Charisma, a stunning German Warmblood.He was a gorgeous subject to draw: athletic, fit, alert, dark and handsome...A work in progress of my trials and tribulations in the making of this piece has been posted in my blog Black on Grey on White.If you would like more information on this piece or my work, please do not hesitate to contact me or have a wee look at my website www.sheonahamiltongrant.com

Friday, May 1, 2009

One of my guest bloggers from this month, Kimberly Kelly Santini, each year paints horses instead of dogs for Derby Week. Earlier in the week, Kim issued a challenge of sorts – that Friday we do a daily painting from the same image. It sounded like a lot of fun to me, so I dug up a selection of photos, and we nominated mutual friend Juliet Harrison to choose one for us. Kim put together a blog for the event: A Virtual pARTy. If you pop over there, you'll see the image we worked from; an early progress shot of my piece, and both our completed paintings.

This is 16 x 12, oil on canvas, and the subject is a yearling Thoroughbred filly named Peaker. She was always very friendly, and as soon as she spotted you, would come boldly over to the fence!

Tomorrow is Derby Day, but Friday is the Kentucky Oaks. I didn't get away to catch the race, but I had to look up the result, and was so happy to see Rachel Alexandra won - by twenty lengths and change! So now, I'm off to watch the replay. Tomorrow, Derby Day!

Last week I went to the Rolex Kentucky 3-day Event, as is tradition, with several girlfriends. It's all horses all day for 3 days and we have a blast. It helps to cast off winter and start fresh upon returning home. One of the most exciting days is cross country and one of the most exciting jumps is the the water jump at the Head of the Lake. This is Bruce Davidson and Jam as they took the middle portion of the jump complex.This original 5x7 matted (8x10) watercolor is available for $80 plus $5 S&H to the first emailer to lojomjnc@charter.net.I am also offering 5x7 giclees for $10 plus $5 S&H.20% of proceeds from this painting will be donated to Cheff Center for Therapeutic Riding in Augusta, MI.

"Snowy Greetings," 12" square, chestnut Thoroughbred filly portrait, acrylic on canvasboard, $529 to the first taker. This is a tough piece to photograph - with the amped contrast and saturated complimentary colors, my camera didn't know what to do. I may try to scan portions of the painting and piece it together in photoshop, but meanwhile inquiries may come to me.

This little lady was half of today's Kentucky Derby pARTy - Linda Shantz will be presenting the other half later today. This is what a "pARTy" is = we are both painting from the same reference photo.

I didn't think to take progress shots of my painting, but will do so next time. But Linda's painting is here and you can view her process as it unfolds. I'll add my image to the site later today.

How did this piece come together? Well I started out with a violet underpainting (the compliment of orange), and pretty much had the drifts and swaths of snow painted in the first pass. Then I sketched in the rough shape of the filly, and working from general to specific, gradually laid down smaller and smaller layers of paint.

We are having so much fun with this pARTy that we are considering doing this regularly and opening it up to any artists who wish to participate. Stay tuned....

Thanks for sharing Derby Week with me - I hope you enjoyed our venture into all things equine. I promise dogs next week, and maybe a cat, too, just for good measure.

Enjoy your weekend - hope it includes a couple minutes watching the Run for the Roses!

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